Britain's Conservatives lose seat they've held for nearly 200 years, in evident rebuke of Boris Johnson

A bad December for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson got worse early Friday when his Conservative Party lost a special election for a seat in Parliament the party has held for nearly 200 years. The victor in North Shropshire, a rural district near England's border with Wales, was Helen Morgan of the centrist Liberal Democrats. "Tonight the people of North Shropshire have spoken on behalf of the British people," she said. "They have said loudly and clearly, 'Boris Johnson, the party is over.'"
The by-election was called to replace Owen Paterson, the Conservative member of Parliament who had held the seat since 1997 but resigned last month after breaking rules against paid lobbying in Parliament — despite an effort by Johnson to save him. Paterson won the district by nearly 23,000 votes in the 2019 general election, which delivered Johnson a solid majority in Parliament. In Thursday's by-election, Morgan won by nearly 6,000 votes, thanks to support from Labour voters.
Voters in North Shropshire gave Johnson's government "a kicking," and "we've listened and we've heard that message," Conservative party co-chairman Oliver Dowden told BBC News. He said the loss of the safe Tory seat was due more to Paterson's lobbying scandal and said the government will try to reverse its slide in the polls by focusing on a booster campaign amid surging COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the past week, Johnson has been hit with revelations about his staff holding a Christmas party last year in evident violation of his government's own COVID-19 lockdown rules, then joking about it. About 100 Tory lawmakers then refused to support Johnson's plan to control the Omicron variant's spread, forcing him to rely on Labour votes. He is now facing murmurings about a leadership challenge, and Labour is pulling ahead in several opinion polls.
"The Tory Party is a ruthless machine for winning elections," Jonathan Powell, a former chief of staff to Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, told The New York Times. "If that is continuing into an election cycle, the party will get rid of him quickly."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US